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Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly called upon to help assess students with word-recognition difficulties, including dyslexia. Although SLPs tend to have comparatively strong knowledge regarding the phonological awareness skills that support word reading, findings from survey research indicate that many SLPs report limited knowledge and training on word recognition and phonics. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic framework for assessing and interpreting students’ word reading skills. Five potential components of word reading assessment will be examined: word recognition, phonological decoding, automaticity, performance with specific phonics patterns, and reading multimorphemic and multisyllabic words. Emphasis will be given to how specific test formats and procedures can be used to help identify patterns of word reading difficulty.

The purpose of the sabbatical leave was to (a) review the extensive body of research and clinical literature on code-based reading difficulties and (b) prepare a journal manuscript and conference presentation to disseminate clinical information to a wide audience of school-based speech-language pathologists.

Many students with a history of speech or language impairment have an elevated risk of reading difficulty. Specific subgroups of these students remain at risk of reading problems even after clinical manifestations of a speech or language disorder have diminished. These students may require reading intervention within a general education system of supports and services. The first part of this article describes three speech-language disorders that place elementary students at risk of reading problems: functional speech disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and specific language impairment. Emphasis is given to research findings on the reading outcomes of students with these disorders. The second part of the article provides recommendations within an RTI framework that will assist Student Support Teams in identifying, monitoring, and supporting these students. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A total of 240 speech-language pathologists responded to a questionnaire examining attitudes toward and use of research and evidence-based practice (EBP). Perceived barriers to EBP were also explored. Positive attitudes toward research and EBP were reported. Attitudes were predicted by exposure to research and EBP practice during graduate training and the clinical fellowship year (CFY). Clinical experience and opinions of colleagues were used to guide decision making more frequently than research studies or clinical practice guidelines. Only exposure to research and EBP during the CFY predicted use of evidence-based resources. Respondents reported a decline in exposure to research and EBP as they moved from graduate training into the CFY. A lack of time was perceived as a barrier to EBP.

This article reports on a collaborative research project involving faculty in writing studies, communication disorders, and applied linguistics that sought to empirically describe the reading skills of students (N = 910) in freshman composition classes at one college and two universities in the northeast United States. The research team developed and administered a questionnaire that evaluated students’ reading abilities according to six categories: inferential ability, background knowledge, general comprehension, vocabulary, figurative language/jargon, and morphosyntactic structures (grammar/syntax). Our statistically significant results showed that students scored best in the categories of background knowledge and general comprehension, which are well researched in a college population. However, students struggled in categories such as figurative language/jargon and morpho-syntactic structures, which are not well researched in a college population. Further, comprehension seemed generally discrete (understanding specific points of an essay) rather than holistic (indicated by an ability synthesize those points into a general statement about the author’s thesis). These findings suggest that further empirical research in this area will help describe the reading skills of college students and consequently will inform the development of pedagogical approaches that more effectively address students’ current needs. © 2021 College Reading and Learning Association.

Two approaches to systematic word review were integrated into an 18-week program of extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students from three high-need urban schools. Words in the embedded and semantically related review conditions received systematic and distributed review. In the embedded review condition, brief word definitions were integrated into the narratives of multiple storybooks. In the semantically related review condition, in-depth word review with explicit emphasis on semantic features and associations was provided during extension activities. Systematic review resulted in an almost twofold increase in target word learning. Embedded review was effective and time efficient, whereas semantically related review was time intensive but resulted in higher levels of word learning. There was a significant gain in Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—III standard scores following the intervention.

In this article, the authors assist teachers who are working with young students at risk for reading disabilities by helping make sense of the large—but unwieldy—scientific knowledge base. They offer a conceptual framework for thinking about beginning reading instruction and intervention across three dimensions: the content of instruction (what to teach), the delivery of instruction (how to teach), and the timing of instruction (when to teach). The authors discuss each of these dimensions and describe how teachers can use them to help organize and make sense of what we know about beginning reading instruction for students experiencing reading difficulties.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare 2 methods for directly teaching word meanings to kindergarten students within storybook read‐alouds that varied in instructional time and depth of instruction along with a control condition that provided students with incidental exposure to target words. Embedded instruction introduces target word meanings during storybook readings in a time‐efficient manner. Extended instruction is more time intensive but provides multiple opportunities to interact with target words outside the context of the story. Participants included 42 kindergarten students who were taught 9 target words, 3 with each method. Target words were counterbalanced in a within‐subjects design. Findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in more full and refined word knowledge, while embedded instruction resulted in partial knowledge of target vocabulary. Implications are discussed in relation to the strengths and limitations of different approaches to direct vocabulary instruction in kindergarten and the trade‐offs between instruction that focuses on teaching for breadth versus depth.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a vocabulary intervention designed to supplement research–based classroom vocabulary instruction, implemented with students who may be at risk for language and learning difficulties. Participants included 43 kindergarten students who received research–based classroom vocabulary instruction. Students with the 20 lowest scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III administered at pretest received additional small–group supplemental vocabulary intervention. Results of within–subjects comparisons indicated that, overall, at–risk students made greater gains in word knowledge on target words that received the supplemental intervention as compared to words that received only classroom–based instruction. In addition, at–risk students who received the supplemental intervention demonstrated word–learning gains that approached those of their peers who received classroom instruction alone. Implications along with limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed.